6 Exercises to Get Things Moving

It can be hard to think of anything else when you’re constipated, making you highly motivated to get things moving again. High-fibre foods play a big role in keeping you regular, but sometimes you need a little more…immediate relief.

That’s where physical activity comes in: Movement can work in several ways to get your bowels back on track – making certain exercises appealing if you need some help pooing fast.

It’s important to keep in mind that no specific exercise or movement can be the cure for constipation. But some can make your gut feel a little bit better – and the rest of your body can always benefit from exercise, too. Here’s what you need to know.

Why can exercise help you poop?

There are a few reasons for this. Regular physical activity stimulates the muscles in your gut, helping to move waste through your system more efficiently, explains Dr Ashkan Farhadi, a gastroenterologist. Exercise can also enhance blood flow to your gut, supporting its overall health.

Stretching your pelvic floor is “essential” to help ease constipation, too, according to Kylee Staky, a pelvic floor physiotherapist. Your pelvic floor muscles have to coordinate and relax during a bowel movement to help get things out, Kylee explains.

“By adding stretching to your routine, the pelvic floor muscles will increase their tissue length and mobility, and decrease their tone, allowing for improved ease of defecation,” she says.

Then, there’s a more holistic benefit of physical activity, which helps your gut, too. “Another area where exercise can help is stress management,” Dr Farhadi says. “When the effect of stress on the gut is removed, you see less inflammation in the gut, along with more regularity and movement.”

Exercises to help you poop fast

This can get slightly complicated. You’ll find a lot of exercise suggestions online to help you poo, but the movement itself is really what matters, Dr Farhadi says. “The general concept of doing exercise and activity is more relevant than any particular move,” he says.

Aerobic exercise in general is great for boosting blood flow, and a recent study found that just 20 minutes of walking on a treadmill significantly increased three markers of gut motility. So, simple cardio options could be just as effective for helping you to poo as any specialised moves you might spot online. You may want to try:

• Going for a walk
• Jogging or running
• Riding a bike – outside or on a stationary bike at the gym

But Kylee suggests adding specific yoga moves to the mix, in addition to exercises that get your blood pumping. “Yoga poses are a great way to reduce tension in the pelvic floor,” she says. Kylee recommends trying these stretches and pairing them with an abdominal massage to encourage gut motility.

• Cat-cow. Get on all fours in a tabletop position on a mat. Gently push your bottom and head towards the sky, curving your spine downwards, so your back looks like a ‘U’ shape. That’s cow position. Hold that pose for a breath, before arching your back like a cat. Hold again, then go back and forth between the two poses.
• Child’s pose. Get on all fours, and splay your knees out to the side. Push your bottom back towards your feet, while continuing to spread your knees. At the same time, keep your back flat and walk your arms out in front of you. Your belly and upper torso should be close to the ground or on it.
• Happy baby. Lie on your back and bend your knees so they’re up towards your chest. Open your knees wide, then grab a toe in each hand and gently rock back and forth on your back.

Finally, keep in mind that while there are a lot of suggestions around the best exercises to help you poo fast, actual hard evidence is limited, Dr Farhadi says. Still, he says it can’t hurt to try certain exercises to get things moving again.

Other ways to ease constipation

Exercise shouldn’t be the only thing you rely on to ease constipation. Consider a multifaceted approach: “More than one thing usually helps,” Dr Farhadi says. If you’re blocked up, Healthdirect Australia recommends doing these things in addition to exercising regularly:

• Try to eat 25 grams of fibre a day if you’re a woman, or 30 grams if you’re a man.
• Drink plenty of water (your urine should be a pale yellow colour), especially if you eat more fibre.
• Try to ‘train’ yourself to poo at the same time every day to encourage regularity.
• Talk to your doctor about your medications. (Certain antidepressants, blood pressure drugs and antacids may raise your risk of constipation.)
• Consider taking over-the-counter medications to get things moving again, like fibre supplements, osmotic agents, stool softeners, lubricants and stimulant laxatives.

When to talk to a doctor

It’s normal to have constipation here and there, Dr Farhadi says. But if you find that you’re regularly backed up, you’re uncomfortable, or your constipation is affecting your quality of life, it’s time to talk to your GP. There are different prescription medications that can help, along with biofeedback therapy to retrain your gut muscles. And if you notice any changes in your bowel habits that persist longer than a couple of weeks, that’s a sign to see your doctor as well.